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CIHM/ICMH 

Microfiche 

Series. 


CIHM/ICMH 
Collection  de 
microfiches. 


Canadian  Inatituta  for  Hiatorical  Microraproductiona  /  Inatitut  Canadian  da  nr.<  cruraproductiona  hiatoriquaa 


■ 


Technical  and  Bibliographic  Notes/Notes  techniques  et  bibliographiques 


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Les  pages  totalement  ou  partiellement 
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The  copy  filmed  here  has  been  reproduced  thanks 
to  the  generosity  of: 

Library  of  the  Public 
Archives  of  Canada 


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ginirositi  de: 

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pubiiques  du  Canada 


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other  original  copies  are  filmed  beginning  on  the 
first  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  impres- 
sion, and  ending  on  the  last  page  with  a  printed 
or  illustrated  impression. 


The  last  recorded  frame  on  each  microfiche 
shall  contain  the  symbol  -^»-  (meaning  "CON- 
TINUED"), or  the  symbol  V  (meaning  "END"), 
whichever  applies. 

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STATEMENT  OF   FACTS 


BBLATIVB    TO 


CANADA     WOOLS 


AND   TBI. 


MANUFACTURES  OF  WORSTED. 


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BOSTON: 

PUKSS   OF  JOHN    WILSON   AND   SONS. 
18GG. 


mim 


Nbw-Yobk  Cut,  Feb.  9,  1866. 


To  Hod.  Stephen  Colwell, 

U.S.  Revenue  Commission,  Philadelphia, 

Sib, 

The  undersigDed,  Members  of  the  Executive  Com- 
mittee of  the  National  Association  of  Wool  Manufacturers,  have 
the  honor  to  submit  to  you,  as  the  member  of  the  Revenue 
Commission  specially  entrusted  with  the  consideration  of  the 
questions  of  revenue  applicable  to  wool,  woollens,  and  worsteds, 
the  following  "  statement  of  facts  relative  to  Canada  wools  and 
the  manufactures  of  worsted,"  prepared  by  the  Secretary  of  the 
Association  above  named,  and  to  commend  the  facts  and  views 
therein  presented  to  your  special  attention. 

We  have  the  honor  to  be,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient 
servants, 

• 

E.  B.  BIGELOW, 
T.  S.  FAXTON, 
EDWARD  HARRIS, 
J.  W.  EDMANDS, 
N.  KINGSBURY, 
THEODORE    POMEROY, 
S.  W.  CATTELL, 

Executive  Committee,  4c- 


NATIONAL  ASSOCIATION  OF  WOOL  MANUFACTURERS,  ^ 
Office,  55,  Summer  Strket, 

Boston,  Mass  ,  Jan.  18,  1866. 

To  the  Executive  Commitlee  of  the  National  Association  of 
Wool  3Iaiiu/acturers. 

Gentlemen,  —  I  have  the  honor  to  call  your  atten- 
tion to  a  statement  of  facts  in  relation  to  the  demand 
for  consumption  in  American  manufactures  of  the 
class  of  wools  known  as  "  combing- wools,"  as  distin- 
guished from  card  or  cloth  wools. 

The  former  class  are  wools  specially  fitted  for  the 
process  of  combing  by  hand  or  machinery,  which  con- 
sists in  drawing  out  the  fibres,  so  that  they  may  be 
straight  and  parallel;  the  shorter  portions  called 
"  noils  "  being  removed  by  this  operation.  The  fibres 
having  been  rendered  straight  and  parallel,  are  twist- 
ed, and  the  yarn  is  called  worsted.  The  ends  of  the 
fibre  being  covered  by  the  process  of  spinning,  the 
yarns  are  smooth  and  lustrous. 

Card  or  cloth  wool  is  wool  fitted  for  being  carded. 
By  this  process  the  fibres  are  placed  in  every  possible 
dhection  in  relation  to  each  other,  adhering  by  the 
serratures  of  the  fibre,  which  are  more  numerous  in 
the  wool  fitted  for  carding.  They  are  thus  fitted  for 
felting,  and  the  ends  of  the  fibre  are  free  to  be  drawn 

[5] 


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out  into  the  nap.  "^Vhile  card  wools  are  required  to 
be  line,  short  in  staple,  and  full  of  spiral  curls  and 
serratures, — qualities  possessed  by  wools  of  which  the 
merino  and  Saxony  wools  are  types,  —  the  combing- 
wools,  on  the  contrary,  must  be  long  in  staple,  from 
four  to  seven  inches  in  length,  comparatively  coarse, 
having  few  spiral  curls  and  serratures,  and  possessing 
a  distinct  lustre.  These  qualities  are  possessed  in  per- 
fection by  the  English  sheep  of  the  Lincolnshire,  Lei- 
cester, and  Cotswold  races ;  and,  in  a  less  degree,  by 
the  Cordova  wools  of  the  Argentine  Republic,  and  the 
Don?koi  ^YOol  of  Russia.  Comparatively  long  fine 
wools  of  the  merino  race,  from  two  and  a  half  to  three 
inches  in  length,  are  combed  for  making  delaines  and 
similar  fabrics ;  but  they  are  not  classed  in  the  trade 
as  combing  or  woreted  wools. 

An  unprecedented  demand  for  tLjse  w^ools  has 
arisen  in  all  manufacturing  nations  within  the  last  ten 
years,  and  the  prices  have  more  than  doubled  in  that 
period.  This  is  due,  first,  to  the  vast  improvements  in 
combing  by  machinery  made  within  the  past  fifteen 
years ;  secondly,  to  the  late  scarcity  of  cotton ;  and, 
thirdly,  to  the  introduction  of  fabrics  from  alpaca 
wool;  and  the  discovery  that  by  the  use  of  cotton 
warps,  with  a  filling  of  combing- wool,  an  admirable 
substitute  might  be  made  for  alpaca  fabrics.  There 
is  an  immense  demand  for  these  fabrics  for  female 
wear. 

The  goods  manufactured  from  combing-wools,  or 
worsteds,  are  alpaca  fabrics,  poplins,  grenadines,  and 
an  infinite  variety  of  fabrics  for  female  wear,   the 


*u 


consumption  of  which  is  constantly  increasing;  the 
contexture  and  patterns  of  the  fabrics  can  be 
changed  indefinitely  to  suit  the  caprices  of  fashion, 
and  they  constitute  the  great  bulk  of  the  class  known 
as  "novelties;"  furniture  goods,  moreens,  damasks, 
reps,  mohairs,  &c. ;  hosiery  goods,  such  as  zephyrs, 
nubas,  &c. ;  braids,  bindings,  bunting,  webbing  for 
saddlery  and  suspenders.  Carpets  are  made  from 
coarse  and  cheap  combing-wools ;  the  white  yarns 
being  made  from  Canada  wool.  It  is  the  opinion  of 
manufacturers,  that  the  finer  classes  of  carpets  could 
be  made  wholly  of  Canada  wool  with  advantage. 

The  vast  variety  of  fabrics,  included  in  the  worsted 
manufacture  is  illustrated  by  the  following  list  of 
goods  professed  to  be  made  by  one  firm  in  Bradford, 
the  seat  of  the  worsted  manufacture  in  England  :  — 


Amiens. 
Alpaca  Lustres. 
Figured  Lustres. 
Buntings. 
Camblets,  — 

Mexican  make. 

Dutch  make. 

East  India  and  China  make. 
Cambletees. 
Woi-sted  Crapes. 
Union  „ 

Mixed  „ 

Grandville   „ 
Cotton  warp  Cubicas. 
Crape  Coatings. 
C!obourgs. 
Shawl  Cloth. 
Plain  Backs. 


Worsted  Stockinetts. 

Worsted  Damasks. 

Union  „ 

Merino  „ 

Worsted  Dobbies. 

French  Figures. 

Worsted  full  Twills. 

Cotton  warp        „ 

Grograras  or  Russel  Cords. 

Plain  aud  Fancy  Garabroons. 

Linings. 

Italian  Crapes. 

Worsted  Lastings. 

Moreens. 

Mohair  Figures. 

Lustre  Orleans. 

Figured  Orleans. 

Cotton  warp  Orleans. 


ii 


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8 


Worsted  Princettas. 

Alepines. 

Queeu's  Cloth. 

Worsted  figured  Russells. 

Union  „  „ 

Silk  warp     „  „ 

Worsted  Serge  de  Berrie. 

Union  Serge  de  Berrie. 

Shalloons. 

Plain  Shotts. 

Figured  striped  Shotts. 

Says,  stout  make. 

Says,  Merino  make. 


Mixed  Stockinetts. 
Grandville       „ 
Webbings. 
Summer  Cloths. 
Stout  Orleans. 
Denmark  Latteena. 
Wildbores. 
Tammies. 
Tournay  Cloths. 
Chipa  Cloth. 
Pelliones. 

Ponchos  and  Mantas. 
Yergas. 


The  importance  of  the  manufacture  is  evinced  by 
the  fact,  that  the  v/orsted  manufacture  employed  in 
England,  in  1856,  87,794  persons ;  while  the  card- 
wool  manufacture  employed  only  79,091.  In  France, 
t'  ,  industry'employed,  in  1851,  300,000  persons.  In 
this  country,  in  1860,  less  than  3,000  were  employed. 
Worsted  goods  constitute  the  largest  part  of  our  im- 
portations. Of  sixty  millions  of  woollens  and  wor- 
steds, forty  millions  were  of  worsted  alone. 

The  manufacture  of  worsteds,  which  is  just  begin- 
ing  to  ha^  e  an  important  development  in  this  country, 
owes  its  existence  to  the  Reciprocity  Treaty,  which 
admitted,  free  of  duty,  tlic  wools  of  Canada.  The 
farmers  of  Ui)per  Canada,  of  English  and  Scotch  de- 
scent, naturally  prejudiced  in  favor  of  the  v'*oep  hus- 
bandry which  prevails  at  home,  —  as  England  is  still 
called  in  the  colonies,  —  iind  having  a  taste  for  Eng- 
lish mutton,  imported  sheep  of  the  Leicester,  Cots- 
wold,  and  Down  races,  which  have  thriven  admirably 
on  the  naturally  rich  limestone  soils  of  Upper  Canada. 


The  present  production  of  wool  from  these  sheep  in 
Canada  is  about  six  milHoas  of  pounds.  The  Cana- 
dians have  no  fine-woolled  sheep.  Protected  by  a 
tariff,  they  consume  about  two  millions  of  their  own 
wool  in  the  manufacture  of  coarse  cloths,  including 
tweeds,  which  have  been  imported  largely  into  the 
United  States,  notwithstanding  the  duty  on  cloths ; 
and  we  use  the  balance  of  from  three  to  five  millions. 
I  have  before  me  an  approximative  estimate,  made 
by  a  worsted  manufacturer  iu  June,  of  the  amount  of 
combing- wools  required  for  our  jjrincipal  mills,  which 
is  as  follows :  — 

Pacific  Mills,  Lawrence,  stuff-goods,  granadines    .     .  300,000  lbs. 

Other  mills  in  Lawrence 200,000  „ 

Hamilton  Company,  Lowell,  stuff-goods 300,000  „ 

Lowell  Carpet  Company,  stuff-goods 250,000  „ 

Abbot  Worsted  Company,  yarns 200,000  „ 

James  Dugdale,  Lowell,  yarns 150,000  „ 

Rhoades,  Lowell,  yarns 100,000  „ 

John  Saydan,  Lowell,  yarns 75,000  „ 

Craven  &  Moore,  Westford,  yarns 110,000  „ 

American  Braid  Company,  Pawtucket,  R.L,  yarns  and 

braids 100,000  „ 

GoffiSc  Son,  Pawtucket,  11.1.,  yarns  and  braids      .     .  75,000  „ 
Valley  Worsleil   Company,   I'rovidence,  ILL,  fancy 

hosiery  and  braids 250,000  „ 

Kalmia  JMills,  Connecticut,  worsted  damnsks,  broca- 

telles,  &c .  150,000  „ 

.Tohn  Vow.h'U,  Philadelpiiia.  yarns 100,000  „ 

Sanniel  Yewdell,  Philadelphia,  yarns 150,(»00  „ 

Thornton,  Troy,  N.Y.,  yarns 50,000  „ 

Aberdeen,  near  Patterson,  N.J.,  yarns 50,000  „ 

IJigelow  Carpet  Company,  white  yarns 100,000  „ 

Manchester   Print-Works,  lor  stutV-goods  bought  lust 

year 300,000  „ 

;;,;»( i< »,()()(» ii»s. 
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10 


The  cimount  ascertained  to  have  been  used  in  other 
mills  not  included  in  this  estimate,  will  carry  the 
present  yearly  consumption  of  Canada  wools  to  at 
least  four  million  pounds. 

As  the  American  production  of  worsted  combing- 
wool  is  not  sufficient  to  supply  one  mill,  if  the  treaty 
should  not  be  renewed,  or  some  provision  be  made  for 
the  free  admission  of  Canada  wools,  the  worsted  man- 
ufacturer will  be  compelled  to  pay  the  whole  of  the 
present  high  duty  on  wools,  of  the  class  consumed  by 
him,  from  which  his  foreign  rival  is  exempt. 

The  wool  adapted  to  the  worsted  manufacture  cost 
now  in  Canada,  in  gold,  from  forty  to  forty-five  cents. 
The  duties,  under  the  present  tariff,  are  on  wools  over 
thirty-two  cents,  twelve  cents,  and  ten  per  cent  ad 
valorem.  If  the  present  tariff  should  operate  on 
Canada  wools,  the  duties  on  wools  commonly  used 
at  present  prices  would  range  from  forty  to  thirty- 
seven  per  cent.  It  is  shown  by  the  sworn  statements 
of  manufacturers  submitted  herewith,  that  these  du- 
ties on  the  raw  material,  together  with  other  neutral- 
izing duties,  such  as  the  internal  revenue  tax,  would 
reduce  the  nominal  protection  of  from  thirty-five  to 
fifty  per  cent;  the  duty  on  foreign  worsteds,  to  an 
actual  protection  ranging  from  zero  to  only  four  per 
cent.  It  is  vain  to  8U[#pose  that  worsted  manufacture 
can  bo  continued  or  increased  under  such  disad^'an- 
tages. 

A  duty  on  Canada  wools  would  crush  an  industry 
which  has  already  assumed  a  truly  national  importance, 
and  liiis  ndvaiicod  with  a  rapidity  unexampled  in  any 


11 


branch  of  our  textile  manufactures.  It  is  shown  by 
the  statements  under  oath  of  four  leading  manufac- 
turers herewith  submitted  (see  statement  of  Samuel 
Fay  and  others),  "that  worsted  yarLs,  of  the  finer 
grades,  were  made  in  this  country  only  to  a  very  lim- 
ited extent  prior  to  1860  or  1861,  except  for  delaines. 
The  introduction  of  the  manufacture  of  the  finer 
worsted  yarns  is  due  to  the  command  of  Canada 
wools,  admitted  free  under  the  Reciprocity  Treaty. 
We  estimate  the  capital,  now  employed  in  the  man- 
ufacture of  the  various  kinds  of  worsted  goods,  at 
eight  million  dollars ;  and  the  yearly  value  of  the  pro- 
duct, at  not  less  than  ten  million  dollars.  We  do  not 
hesitate  to  say,  that,  in  oui  opinion,  the  whole  of  this 
manufacture  is  dependent  upon  the  supply  of  Canada 
wool ;  and  that,  if  Canada  wool  should  be  subjected 
to  duties  ruling  under  the  present  tariff,  the  greater 
part  of  this  manufacture  would  be  suspended." 

Mr.  Morse,  a  leading  manufacturer  of  braids,  says, 
in  his  sworn  statement,  herewith  submitted :  "  The 
first  manufacture  of  worsted  braid  in  this  country  was 
commenced,  in  1860,  with  sixteen  English  machines. 
We  estimate  tliat  three  thousand  machines  for  braid- 
ing worsted  are  now  in  operation  in  this  country,  that 
the  operation  of  these  machines  requires  a  capital  of 
one  million  dollars,  and  that  the  annual  value  of  the 
product  is  three  millions.  With  the  present  supply 
of  yarns,  and  the  present  machinery,  it  is  impossible 
to  supply  the  demand.  We  have  orders  to-day 
for  a  hundred  thousand  dozen  of  braids  ahead  of 
our  production.     The  existence  of  this  manufacture 


!i 


I  ■ 


51 


i 


12 


is  wholly  dependent  upon  the  supply   of  Canada 
wool." 

If  the  manufacture  of  a  single  article  of  the  hun- 
dreds which  may  be  made  from  these  combing-wools 
is  so  important,  there  can  be  no  doubt  of  the  correct- 
ness of  the  estimate  made  by  one  of  the  most  experi- 
enced observers  of  the  American  wool  market,  Mr. 
Bond,  who  stated,  at  the  Syracuse  Convention,  that 
"we  should  readily  and  promptly  consume  in  this 
country  not  less  than  twenty  million  pounds  of  such 
wools,  if  we  had  the  supply." 

The  adoption  of  a  policy  which  would  overthrow 
this  most  promising  of  all  our  textile  manufactures, 
can  be  warranted  only  by  unquestionable  countervail- 
ing advantages  to  American  producers,  —  the  wool- 
growers,  for  example. 

Excluded  as  the  wool-growers  of  the  West  espe- 
cially have  been  from  communication  with  Eastern 
manufacturers,  and  uninformed,  like  most  others  in 
the  community,  of  the  peculiar  uses  to  which  these 
wools  are  applied,  it  is  quite  natural  that  their  first 
impression  should  be  unf;norable  to  the  free  admis- 
sion of  Canada  wools.  It  is  believed,  however,  that 
a  candid  consideration  of  the  facts  will  convince  even 
our  Western  farmers,  that  no  possible  advantage  to 
the  wool-growers  of  the  United  States  can  accrue 
from  a  duty  on  C'anadian  wools.  They  do  not,  in  fact, 
compete  with  the  wools  now  produced  in  this  country. 
It  is  safe  to  say,  that  not  30(),()()0  pounds  of  combing- 
wools  are  produced  in  the  United  States ;  and  we 
exj)ort  to  Canada  for  lior  mills  a  much  larger  quan- 


13 


tity  of  our  fine  wool.  That  this  estimate  is  large  is 
shown  by  statistics  of  Ohio,  the  largest  sheep-growing 
State  in  the  Union,  and  furnishing  about  one-sixth  of 
our  whole  production.  The  whole  number  of  sheep 
in  Ohio,  in  1862,  as  shown  by  the  agricultural  reports, 
was  4,448,227.  The  number  of  Cotswold  and  Leices- 
ter sheep,  producing  corabing-wool,  is  set  down  for 
1863  at  only  3,324,  which,  at  seven  pounds  per  fleece, 
produced  23,268  pounds  of  wool.  This  multiplied  by 
six,  the  jjroportion  of  sheep  in  the  rest  of  the  United 
States  to  Ohio,  would  make  the  whole  product  of 
combing-wool  139,592  pounds. 

It  is  believed  that  combing-wools  can  be  grown 
with  great  advantage  in  this  country,  particularly 
since  the  enormous  relative  increase  in  price  of  these 
wools ;  and  it  is  believed  that  much  incidental  benefit 
will  accrue  to  the  country  from  the  improvement  in 
mutton  and  lambs  which  will  be  effected  by  the  cul- 
ture of  long-wooUed  sheep.  But  the  inducement  for 
growing  this  wool  must  come  principally  from  the 
demand  of  our  manufacturers.  Check  the  worsted 
manufacture,  and  there  will  be  no  hope  of  introduc- 
ing this  species  of  sheep-husbandry,  which  is  one  of 
the  most  important  sources  of  the  agricultural  wealth 
of  England. 

The  American  producer  of  fine  wool  may  need  pro- 
tection against  the  fine  wool  of  Australia  and  La  Plata, 
produced  by  cheaper  labor.  But  the  cost  of  produc- 
tion of  combing-wools  in  Canada,  and  similar  districts 
in  the  United  States,  would  be  nearly  equal,  the  cost 
of  labor  being  nearly  the  same.     The  American  who 


in 


h!i 


HI 

i 


14 


goes  into  the  production  of  combing-wools  near  the 
great  cities,  the  only  situation  where  this  wool  will  be 
likely  to  be  raised,  will  have  the  advantage  in  having 
his  wool,  mutton,  and  lambs  nearer  the  market.  The 
American  production  of  combing-wool  will  probably 
never  be  repressed  by  Canadian  competition;  while 
the  Canadian  supply  will  keep  the  mills  running,  which 
will  make  a  demand  for  wool  for  both  the  Canadian 
and  American.  Canadian  sheep  husbandry  will  not 
compete  with  American  fine-wool  husbandry ;  for  the 
latter  differs  from  the  former  as  much  as  it  docs  from 
pork-raising.  Fine-wool  husbandry  is  adapted  to  the 
prairies  of  the  AVest,  and  the  hill-sides  of  the  AUe- 
ghanics,  where  the  sheep  are  raised  for  wool  princi- 
pally, in  flocks  of  a  thousand  or  more  ;  and  the  sheep 
are  not  killed  till  they  are  old.  The  long-wool  hus- 
bandry is  adapted  to  stall-feeding  or  high  farming  in 
the  neighborhood  of  the  great  markets,  where  there 
is  a  sale  for  fat  mutton  and  early  lambs,  the  wool 
being  only  the  accessory.  The  sheep  are  kept  in 
small  flocks,  and  are  killed  as  soon  as  they  reach 
maturitv. 

The  encouragement  of  the  worsted  manufacture  by 
means  of  free  Canada  wool,  would,  in  fiict,  benefit  the 
American  wool-growing  interest  by  increasing  tlie  de- 
mand, and  consequently  the  price,  of  the  kind  of  wool 
at  present  most  in  favor  with  the  American  producer : 
T  mean  the  heavy  Vermont  merino  fleece.  This  wool, 
on  account  of  its  strength  and  superior  length,  is 
admirably  fitted  for  soft  stuff'-goods  for  female  wear, 
the  manufucturc  of  which  is  carried  on  in  England 


15 


and  France,  in  the  same  establishments  which  work 
the  combing-wools ;  for  the  products,  being  fitted  for 
the  same  consumption,  can  be  put  on  the  market 
together.  The  mills  in  this  country  which  have  lately 
introduced  the  manufacture  of  Alpaca  fabrics  from 
Canada  combing-wools,  have  at  the  same  time  intro- 
duced the  manufacture  ^f  Coburgs,  a  kind  of  soft  btuff 
goods  from  the  American  merino  fleece.  I  can  point 
to  the  establishments  of  the  Lowell  Manufacturing 
Company  and  the  Pacific  Mills,  where  both  classes  of 
fabrics  are  made.  To  introduce  the  manufacture  of 
stuff-goods  into  this  country,  now  our  greatest  neces- 
sity, the  supply  of  both  kinds  of  wool  is  necessary,  and 
the  demand  for  the  long  combing-wools  will  certainly 
create  an  equally  increased  demand  for  the  peculiar 
wool  of  the  American  merino.  It  is  working  exactly 
so  in  England  at  the  present  time.  The  price  of 
English  combing-wool  is  now  unprecedented,  while 
that  of  cloth  wools  remains  stationary.  x\t  the  last 
quarterly  sales  in  December,  Australian  merino  comb- 
ing-wools, analogous  to  Vermont  merino  woole,  ad- 
vanccd  fourpence  a  pound. 

If  these  views  are  correct,  there  remains  but  one 
argument  for  imposing  a  duty  on  Canadian  wools,  — 
the  necessities  of  the  revenue.  But  it  is  evident, 
that  the  American  manufacturer  cannot  import  and 
pay  the  onerous  duty  which  will  be  operative  under 
the  present  tariff;  and  it  is  equally  evident,  that  the 
loss  to  the  internal  revenue  by  diminishing  the  manu- 
facture will  be  greater  than  any  gain  from  a  duty  on 
wool. 


m 


I' 

'It 


^1 

i 


16 


The  imposition  of  duty  on  Canadian  wool  would 
therefore  be  a  suicidal  act,  justified  by  no  possible 
advantage ;  and  would  be  a  concession,  not  to  our 
farmers,  who  would  suffer  by  the  act,  but  to  mere 
popular  prejudice.  It  would  be  an  act  of  bad  faith 
to  the  manufacturers  who  have  erected  expensive 
estabHshments,  and  imported  costly  machinery,  upon 
which  they  paid  a  duty  of  over  forty-five  per  cent  in 
gold,  upon  the  faith  that  treaty  stipulations  would 
have  a  permanence  not  expected  in  legislative  pro- 
visions. 

It  is  true  that  Canada  derives  great  benefit  from 
selling  her  wools  in  this  country  at  fifty  cents  a 
pound ;  but  how  much  greater  benefit  do  we  derive 
from  employing  them  to  nationalize  a  great  manufac- 
ture in  this  country !  It  was  a  benefit  to  the  English 
wool-growers,  for  two  or  more  centuries,  to  send  all 
their  combing-wool  to  Flanders  ,  but  Flanders,  by  the 
command  of  the  wool  of  England  for  her  manu- 
factures, became  the  richest  commercial  nation  in 
Europe.  In  the  supply  of  wool,  Canada  is  to  us  what 
England  was  to  Flanders  before  the  time  of  Edward 
III.,  who  kept  his  wool  at  home ;  and  what  Ireland 
is  to  England  now,  and  what  England  desires  all  the 
world  to  be  to  her  besides.  We  wish  to  apply  to 
Canada  the  lesson  which  England  has  taught  us ;  and 
it  is  not  our  fault  that  Canada  is  also  pressing  for  the 
freedom  to  export  her  raw  material,  and  is  blind  to 
the  obvious  fact  that  such  a  policy  will  always  keep 
her  impoverished  and  dependent. 

These  views  are  presented  with  the  conviction  that 


17 


the  American  producer  of  wool  wi!!  derive  no  possi- 
ble advantage  from  a  tax  on  Canadian  wools;  and 
they  are  presented  with  the  distinct  admission,  that,  if 
the  American  wool-grower  can  furnish  reasonable 
evidence  that  a  duty  on  Canadian  wools  will  aid  his 
production,  he  has  a  right  to  demand  it,  and  we  are 
bound  to  concede  it. 

The  American  consumers  of  Canada  >.  ool  ^  not 
desire  to  complicate  the  matter  in  which  they  are 
specially  interested,  with  the  question  of  the  termina- 
tion or  renewal  of  the  Reciprocity  Treaty.  But,  in  case 
of  its  termination,  they  feel  justified  by  the  foregoing 
facts  in  asking,  that  Canada  woois,  by  a  special  legis- 
lative provision,  may  be  admitted  free  of  duty.  Such 
a  provision  for  admitting  combing-wools  only,  would 
be  objectionable  on  account  of  the  practical  difficulty 
at  the  custom-house  in  determining  what  are  comb- 
ing-wools ;  for  portions  of  some  fleece^  may  be  se- 
lected for  combing,  while  other  portions  may  be 
used  for  carding.  But  so  little  carding-wool  will 
be  received,  the  Canadians  not  producing  enough 
card  wool  to  supply  their  o>vn  mills,  that  it  would  be 
better  to  submit  all  Canadian  wools  to  the  same  pro- 
vision. 

The  above  proposition  is  made  upon  the  considera- 
tion, that  the  simplest  mode  of  preserving  the  worsted 
manufacture  is  to  continue  the  system  under  which  it 
has  grown  up.  But  the  popular  prejudice  against 
any  form  of  free  trade  with  the  British  Provinces,  and 
the  consideration  that  the  advocacy  of  the  above  ])lan 
may  be  an  apparent  abandonment  of  the  principle  of 


18 


protection,  suggest  another  mode  of  affording  relief  to 
the  worsted  manufacturers.  The  alternative  plan  is 
therefore  suggested,  if  a  duty  shall  be  imposed  upon 
Canadian  wools,  of  placing  an  additional  duty  upon 
manufactures  of  worsted,  sufficient  to  be  counter- 
vailing against  the  duty  on  the  wool.  This  plan 
would  be  in  harmony  with  the  principles  upon  which 
the  present  tariff  laws  are  based.  It  is  believed  that 
such  an  additional  duty  would  not  materially  check 
importations,  and  would  add  largely  to  the  revenue. 

I  have   the  honor  to  be,  very  respectfully,  your 
obedient  servant, 

JOHN  L.   HAYES,  Secretary. 


19 


APPENDIX. 


To  the  United -States  Revenue  Commiasion. 

The    undersigned    representatives    of companies 

engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  worsteds,  viz.,  Samuel 
Fay,  Superintendent  of  the  Lowell  Manufacturing  Com- 
pany; Allan  Cameron,  Agent  of  the  Abbott  Worsted 
Company ;  0.  H.  Moulton,  Agent  of  the  Hamilton  Manu- 
facturing Company,  —  respectfully  submit  the  following 
statement  in  regard  to  the  manufacture  of  worsteds :  — 

Worsted  yarns  of  the  finer  grades  were  made  in  this 
country  only  to  a  very  limited  extent,  prior  to  1860  or 
1861,  except  for  delaines ;  the  yarns  manufactured,  prior 
to  that,  being  principally  designed  for  carpets.  The  intro- 
duction of  the  manufacture  of  the  finer  worsted  yarns  is 
due  to  the  command  of  Canada  wools  admitted  free  under 
the  reciprocity  treaty.  Yarns  for  the  weft  of  worsted 
stuff  goods  are  made  of  long  lustre  combing  wools,  such 
as  are  grown  upon  sheep  known  as  Leicestershire,  Cots- 
wold,  and  similar  breeds,  raised  in  England  and  Canada. 

Other  worsted  fabrics  are  made  with  warps  manufac- 
tured from  wool  described  above,  and  weft  made  from  the 
longest  merino  wool.  Machinery,  specially  adapted  for 
manufacturing  worsteds  from  long  combing  wools,  has  been 
imported  from  England,  and  is  adapted  for  no  other  pur- 
pose; so  that,  if  the  raw  inaterial  is  wanting,  the  machinery 
must  be  idle.  The  Canada  wools,  used  for  making  worsted 
in  this  country,  are  fully  equal  to  the  English  combing 
wools;    and  the   fabrics  made  in  this  country  are  equal, 


r 

ji 

ilil 


i 


20 


in  all  respects,  to  imported  fabrics.  There  is  a  demand 
for  all  that  can  be  manufactured  from  the  present  ma- 
chinery. 

We  estimate  the  capital  now  employed  in  the  manufac- 
ture of  yarns  and  the  various  kinds  of  worsted  goods 
at  $8,000,000,  and  the  yearly  value  of  the  product  of 
worsted  goods  at  not  less  than  $10,000,000,  —  this  ex- 
clusive of  manufacture  of  delaines,  in  which  American 
merino  wools  are  used  with  the  shorter  Canada  wools. 

We  do  not  hesitate  to  say,  that,  in  our  opinion,  the  whole 
of  this  manufacture  is  dependent  upon  the  supply  of  Can- 
ada wool ;  and  that,  if  Canada  wool  should  be  subjected 
to  duties  ruling  under  the  present  tariff,  the  greater  part 
of  this  manufacture  will  be  suspended. 

Samuel  Fay,  Sup'i  Loioell  Manf'g  Co. 
0.  H.  MouLTON,  Sap't  Hamilton  Man/'g  Co. 
John  C.  Morse  &  Co. 
Allan  Cameron. 


ss. 


State  of  Massacuusetts, 
County  of  Suffolk, 

Sworn  to  aad  subscribed  before  me,  the  13th  day  of  January, 
1866. 

Francis   S.  Dyer, 

Notary  Public. 


To  the  United-States  Revenue  Commission. 

The  undersigned,  John  C.  Morse  &  Co.,  of  Massachusetts, 
respectfully  represent,  that  we  are  engaged  in  the  manu- 
facture of  worsted  braids,  at  Attleborough,  Mass.  We 
have  employed  at  our  establishment  an  average  of  five 
hundred  machines  all  the  time. '  With  that  quantity  of 
machinery  running,  we  can  manufacture  braids  of  the 
value  of  $800,000  per  annum,  which  value  we  are,  in  fiict, 
now   manufacturing;    and  we   expect  to   manufacture   a 


21 


demand 
ent  ma- 

nanufac- 
d  goods 
)duct  of 
this  ex- 
merican 
ols. 

le  whole 

of  Can- 

iibjected 

ter  part 

Co. 
nfg  Go. 


January, 

TER, 

fy  Public. 


value  of  $1,000,000  per  annum.  These  braids  are  made  of 
worsted  yarns  spun  from  Canada  wool.  The  machines  for 
braiding  which  we  use  are  of  American  invention,  made 
expressly  for  manufacturing  worsted  braids  in  this  coun- 
try, and  are  great  improvements  upon  English  machines ; 
being  simpler,  and  costing  about  half  the  price,  and  taking 
but  half  the  power  to  work  them. 

The  first  manufacture  of  worsted  braid  in  this  country 
was  commenced  in  1860,  with  sixteen  English  machines. 
We  estimate  that  three  thousand  machines  for  braiding 
worsted  are  now  in  operation  in  this  country,  that  the 
operation  of  these  machines  requires  a  capital  of  one  mil- 
lion dollars,  and  that  the  annual  value  of  the  product  is 
three  millions.  With  the  present  supply  of  yarns  and  the 
present  machinery,  it  is  impossible  to  supply  the  demand. 
We  have  orders  to-day  for  100,000  dozen  of  braids  ahead 
of  our  production. 

The  existence  of  this  manufacture  is  wholly  dependent 

upon  the  supply  of  Canada  wool.     The  American  yarns 

made  of  Canada  wools  are  superior  for  the  manufacture  of 

braids  to  the  English  yarns. 

John  C.  Morse  <fe  Co. 


'l«s. 


Statk  of  Massachusetts, 
County  of  Suffolk, 

Sworn  to  und  subscribed  before  me,  this  13th  day  of  January, 

A.D. 1866. 

Francis  S.  Dyek, 

Notary  Public. 


husetts, 
)  manu- 
38.     We 

of  five 
ntity  of 

of  the 
,  in  fact, 
cture   a 


Ea 


